Who: The St. Louis Symphony with conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier and violinist Augustin Hadelich
What: Music of Rossini, Paganini, and Berlioz
When: Tonight at 8 (simulcast on St. Louis Public Radio 90.7 FM and HD 1) and Sunday at 3
Where: Powell Symphony Hall
Why: "Known for his gorgeous tone and expressive communication, Augustin Hadelich has catapulted into the top echelon of young violinists. He makes his STL Symphony debut performing Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1, followed by Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. Complete with an elegant ball, a frightening march to the scaffold and a pastoral scene in a field, Berlioz’s most celebrated work is an orchestral tour-de-force." We saw this concert Friday morning and were very impressed by Mr. Hadelich's performance. The real killer, though, was Mr. Tortelier's electrifying Symphonie fantastique; a beautifully nuanced and highly dramatic interpretation.
Watch Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique on PBS. See more from Keeping Score.
Paganini was a violinist of such astounding technique that some said he was in league with the devil—a myth he cultivated by dressing entirely in black and arriving at concerts in a black carriage pulled by black horses. His much-deserved reputation as a womanizer and hellraiser only added to the legend. Berlioz was more stable, but his Symphonie fantastique—inspired by his obsession with the Irish Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson—is pretty extreme stuff as well. Subtitled "Episode in the Life of an Artist", it's detailed program chronicles a sexual obsession that leads to a drug overdose (opium, the LSD of the early 18th century) and resulting hallucinations of murder and a Satanic mass.
And you thought the classics were stuffy! Check out the embedded video above for an entertaining and enlightening tour through the Symphonie fantastique and the life of its creator.
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